Types of Medical Malpractice Cases

Medical malpractice is a form of wrongful death and personal injury claim, according to the lawyers at Crowe & Mulvey, LLP. It is defined as the failure of a medical professional to provide proper care and treatment, leading to the injury or death of a patient. According to Nolo, an online hub for legal information, just because a patient was unsatisfied with a treatment, it does not automatically account for medical malpractice. For a case to be considered medical malpractice, there has to be some sort of negligence from the part of the medical professional, like when a doctor or a nurse potentially put the patient in danger because of the lack of knowledge about the practice.

Most medical malpractice lawsuits allege medical professionals of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, as said by Nolo. The delay or misdiagnosis may lead to the patient missing the chance to be provided with surgery, treatment, or medication at the right time, which could lead to critical condition or death.

Birth injuries are also a well-known type of medical malpractice, and cerebral palsy is just one of the many injuries during childbirth that may have rooted from a professional’s negligence. The carelessness of a doctor during a woman’s pregnancy may also lead to adverse effects, like the failure to identify different complications, which would later take toll on the woman or the child.

A study back in 2006 proved that incorrect amount, incorrect prescription dosage, and just medication errors in general affect 1.5 million people in the country each year, according to Nolo. The excess or lack in the drugs may be the reason for the injury of the person.

Medical malpractice is one of the hardest cases to tackle under personal injury, because it requires an intensive look into the medical history of a patient and the medical records provided. Should one find himself/herself in a position where a medical professional has done them wrong, it is best to consult a personal injury lawyer to understand the situation further. This article dives further into problems associated with medical malpractice.